oxidases


oxidases,

in biochemistry, enzymes that catalyze reactions that directly involve molecular oxygen (see oxidation and reductionoxidation and reduction,
complementary chemical reactions characterized by the loss or gain, respectively, of one or more electrons by an atom or molecule. Originally the term oxidation
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). Some utilize flavin coenzymescoenzyme
, any one of a group of relatively small organic molecules required for the catalytic function of certain enzymes. A coenzyme may either be attached by covalent bonds to a particular enzyme or exist freely in solution, but in either case it participates intimately in
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 derived from riboflavin (see vitaminvitamin,
group of organic substances that are required in the diet of humans and animals for normal growth, maintenance of life, and normal reproduction. Vitamins act as catalysts; very often either the vitamins themselves are coenzymes, or they form integral parts of coenzymes.
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 B2). Others oxidize compounds by the removal of hydrogen, such as alcohol dehydrogenase's catalysis of ethanol to acetaldehyde. Copper-containing oxidases catalyze a variety of biological oxidations.

Oxidases

 

a group of enzymes of the oxidoreductase class. Widely distributed in nature, oxidases catalyze oxidation-reduction reactions in which molecular oxygen acts as a hydrogen acceptor in living cells. Water (H2O) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is formed during the transfer of hydrogen from the oxidized substrate to O2. Some oxidases are metal-containing enzymes, for example, tyrosinase and ascorbic acid oxidase contain copper; others, such as glucose oxidase, are flavoproteins.